Changing The World
by MrKage
Summary: The world is the ugly place, one filled with prejudice. Where those with power are hailed as the gods and those without any are nothing more than ones and zeroes in the system. Izuku disagrees with this. Every fibre of his being is against this philosophy. He's going to change it, not being the one to allow the world to rot away. !VillainIzuku! (Hiatus)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

* * *

"Can a quirkless person be a hero like you?!" Izuku shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice carrying as much desperation and hope as it could.

He had to ask it. Now that All Might, Number One Hero in Japan and America, the Symbol Of Peace, was standing here, right in front of him, this was his only chance to get the answer to this question. Otherwise all his plans would be ruined.

He gazed up, expecting to see the massive form of the Hero. Instead all he witnessed was the giant wall of steam and a shadow of a man. Those sunken cheeks and deep bags under eyes. Those weak, tiny arms with no sign of muscle at all, that could be easily snap like a twigs. Those oversized clothes that previously could barely contain the humongous body, now looked just like a bags thrown on the scarecrow. But the most terrifying thing was the lack of smile. In its place a sat a pained grimace.

"Damn… out of time again." All Might said in barely audible voice. The man peaked at him. "Don't go telling about it kid, okay? Not many people know, how the Symbol of Peace looks like."

Izuku swallowed hard and nodded a bit. "How… How that have happened?" A completely normal question to ask in this kind of situation. One seemingly born out of the human's curiosity.

All Might glanced to the side, before rising up his shirt, showing a horrifying scar that was the mix between deep purple and angry red color. "I've into the fight with a powerful villain five years ago. It was never made public. I've lost my stomach and one lung." The Hero sighed loudly, lowering his shirt. The man turned to the door to the rooftop and walked to them, stopping just a few feet before them. "As for your question… You should give up. Heroics aren't really a game. While intentions and just heart are necessary, without power you can't do anything. If you still want to help, become a police officer or a doctor. Those roles are more safe and you can still be of the good use to society. If not, then corporation wpuld always welcome anyone. Farewell, young man." All might told him in grave tone, before opening the exit and disappearing in it.

There it was. The brutal and only truth. The harsh words that shattered the souls of the most braveries ones and destroyed the dreams of the most hopefuls. The words that could push any human to do the seemingly atrocious acts, only to stop the dark thoughts that plunged in the minds of those who heard them.

Izuku walked slowly to the edge of the building and got to the other side of the guardrail. Peaking down he saw some a dirty alley filled with trash. More than ten floors under his feet. Looking up, at the grey sky, he felt the first droplets of rain hit his face. He closed his eyes as he stepped forward.

* * *

Izuku ran. He ran as fast as his eight year old legs could carry him. He didn't know where he was going, he just wanted to get away from his tormentors. He knew why they were chasing him, but he didn't understood why. All he wanted to do was to show Kacchan and his friends his new Hero Card.

They were printed not even a month ago. But that was a special edition, containing the new, platinum All Might card. It was made to celebrate Hero's twentieth anniversary of service. This card was ultra-rare, only ten thousand copies were made in Japan. And the only way to get them was to get lucky with the bag of chips. By the grace of the God, Izuku lucked out, gaining that marvelous piece to his collection. He saw it as some kind of sign that would bless his future Hero career.

So today, when he met up with Kacchan and others, he showed it to them, saying his thoughts and dream with the brightest smile he could muster. His other friends were awed by the card. But not Kacchan. The boy screamed at him, throwing the mean names left and right, and setting the explosion right into his chest, burning his new shirt.

Then Kacchan told others to catch him. So Izuku, being the smart one, begun to run away. Which turned into some kind of goose chase. The worst part about it? He didn't know this part of the city.

Suddenly, after getting out from some alley he saw the river and a small bridge. His lungs and legs burned him from all this running away he did. He needed to rest. He needed to hide. So he did the first thing that could satisfy both of those things. He got under the metal constructions, hoping that they wouldn't find him.

Izuku didn't even get to sit down, when he heard his bullies coming into the area. He couldn't really understand what they were saying, nor he could peak at them, without blowing up his cover. So he just stood there, his hands pressed tightly against his month, trying to avoid making any sounds.

He didn't know how much time have passed. Was it seconds? Was it minutes? He couldn't really tell. The voices quieted making him release a deep sigh. They were gone. Now he only needed to wait here a few moments and try to figure out the way home. Simple. Nothing that he couldn't manage. A Hero always could find his way out of any oppre…

A loud explosion and scorching heat reached him, throwing him out from his feet onto the ground. His head hit the rocky bottom of the shore and dull pain flared above his left eyebrow.

"There you are, you shitty Deku." Kacchan growled at him. A smoke was rising from his outstretched palms. A huge, angry grimace marred his face and his red orb held an dangerous glint in them. "You thought that you can run away from me after splitting out that bullshit!?"

Two lackeys grabbed him by his arm, forcing him to stand up. Izuku tried to get away from them, but he didn't have enough strength. His fearful, teary eyes gazed at his best friend. Why was he doing this?! Kacchan wanted to be a Hero, just like him. This wasn't how the Hero behaved!

A fist plunged into his stomach, knocking the air from his lungs. A hit to the cheek, then another one to the other side. A kick to the stomach, followed by yet one more punch, this time onto the chest.

More came at him, with equal amount of wrath and profanities, but it did nothing more than to add to already existing physical pain. Yet none of those hit hurt him more than the feeling of betrayal from Kacchan.

Sure, the boy was rough and angry, during his better days, but Izuku always considered him his best friend. Even when he was called the names, even when he got pushed around or had his things burned by Explosion. He always believed that he would be a Hero alongside Kacchan.

So why? Why was he behaving like a villain? Hurting other kids, calling them extras, destroying they belongings. Why were the teachers seemingly blind towards his tendencies? Why it was him always getting the talks about how he's in the way, causing troubles, while he clearly was the victim here? He couldn't understand it.

He felt that he was grabbed by his collar. His vision was really hazy now. His right eye was almost swollen shut due to getting a strong punch, his left one was all red, because of the blood that got to it, thanks to that cut on his forehead.

"Listen here, Deku, and listen me well." Kacchan's face was close to his, only centimeters divided their noses. The expression the boy held was the one of pure rage. "You will never be a Hero." He said those words loud and clear. "You're just a quirkless loser, who can't do shit on his own. So do me a fucking favor and stop going around spilling that bullshit that you're going to stand alongside me on the same ground. You're below bottom, worse than any extra there is."

Kacchan released his grip on him, making Izuku's body fall lifelessly onto the cold, stony shore. He heard them leave him after few moments, but not after playing around with his things. Soon after his eyes closed and his mind was embraced by darkness.

* * *

Izuku slowly woke up with a groan. His body hurt him in almost all places and he could only just barely see on his right eye. Something tight was wrapped around his left one, not allowing him to see a thing. Turning his head around he saw that he was laying on the hospital bed in the small, bright yellow room. To his left arm was attached the IV. The smell was a sterile one, making him wrinkle his nose.

He opened his mouth to say anything, but his throat was raw and dry. Immediately he begun coughing, which only hurt more. He felt something papery touch his lip, soon followed by the cool water. He drunk it greedily, quenching his thirst, that he wasn't aware of at first.

"T-thank you-u." Izuku whispered with a grunt.

"You're welcome, young man."

The voice was definitely a male one. He didn't know the man, but his tone was smooth, pleasant and somehow made him feel at ease. It also had the hidden power behind it. Power that could guarantee to do anything. Needlessly to say, he didn't know that person.

Turning to the man, he saw a very handsome male in black suit without the tie and unbuttoned collar. He had a short, black hair, slicked back with a gel. His eyes had the greyish green color, that held something Izuku couldn't even begin to comprehend. Then there was the smile. It was actually closer to the smirk, showing a bit of perfectly white teeth. But it wasn't the one that was made due to the mockery. It suited the man.

"In case you're wondering, you're in the private clinic of my friend. I've found you a week ago near the river bank."

A week?! He was out for so long? No wonder that he could barely speak. Still, a week passed. Was there any search party? Did his mom knew where he was? Did she even knew, that he was alive?

"I'd go to the police and tell them about you, but I couldn't get a picture of you. Your face was badly beaten." The man informed him. "The only thing that was near you was that notepad with quirks in it." There was a hint of joy in his voice. "You really have a good eye and sharp mind. To analyze all of those quirks to such degree at your age. I'm truly impressed." It came as genuine as it could.

Izuku felt the wave of heat hit his cheek and small smile making it way on his lips. No one really praised his quirk analysis. His mom only told him to watch out during the Hero-Villain fights and not bother the person, whose quirk caught his interest.

Honestly during this short exchange the man was nicer to him than almost any other person for all his life.

"Can you tell me your name? That way, I can go to the police and get their help. If things go fast, by the end of the week you'll go back to your parents and friends."

And suddenly the spell vanished. The recent events crashed back to him at the full force. His smile disappeared and in the corner of his eyes tears gathered.

"What's wrong?" The man asked in concern.

"I-I… I don't w-want to g-go b-back." Izuku answered in shaky voice. He took unsteady breath before continuing. "I'm q-quirkless, but I-I want t-to be-e a Hero. Yet a-all my m-mom a-and my f-frie… the k-kids from m-my age are d-doing is s-slowly d-d-destroying my dream." He pointed at his face and body. "This… T-This is the d-doing of my b-best friend w-who wants t-to be a Hero… I d-don't w-want to go-o back t-there, to b-being n-nothing, but a u-useless waste o-of space. To b-being a Deku."

He started crying, tears running freely from his eyes, a small hiccup escaping from his lips uncontrolled. He felt so much better by finally getting it out from his chest. He didn't know for just how ungodly long he carried it all inside of him. Weeks? Months? Years? It was so hard to tell now. But at this moment Izuku felt free. Like some invisible shackles fell from his arms and legs and a weight was taken out from his shoulders.

He felt something touch his head, gently, almost tenderly, petting him. It made him melt at the feeling, snuggling as close as he only could, craving for more. It was similar to the way his mom did it, but at the same time so much different. Needlessly to say, that it did the trick and calmed him down.

Izuku peaked at the man, who still had his hand buried in his hair. A small smile stretched his lips and in his eyes he could see something akin to understanding.

"The world is a harsh place." The man begun. His voice was somber and carried a lot of weight in it. "Everyone is treated differently, because of their quirks. Those who have strong ones are praised for just being born. Those with weak quirks are commonly made into the laughing stocks, becoming the gray characters in each other's lives." The man looked at him. "And quirkless one are beyond the margin of society. Unaccepted by many, looked down as those who don't have the very basic right to be alive. All because they don't have the right genes in them."

Izuku felt the new wave of tears coming to him. The brutal truth about the world he was living in was served to him. Right under his nose. He didn't feel any strength in him. Maybe he should just really give up? There was no way that he would be able to become a Hero. Nor change the world.

"But I for one don't agree with this mindset."

He thought that his neck snapped with how fast his head turned to the man. His lone eye looked for any sign of deception on the man's face, but he couldn't find any. Those words were sincere, coming straight from the heart.

"While it's true, that quirks are amazing and fascinating, they're not everything there is to people. Take Endeavor for example. He possess one of the most powerful fire quirks in Japan, maybe even the world, but he's not suited to be a Hero, due to his brash personality. Sadly it's utterly overlooked. Because he has the power. Our world became absolutely disgusted place to live in." The man's nose wrinkled as his face features twisted. But a split second later a small smirk returned and a hand extended to him. "I want to change it. I want to change our society. Turn it from its wronged way. I want people to see more than just quirks in each other. I want us all to understand each other. Do you wish to join me in this quest? Do you want to become the Hero of your own making?" His tone finally showed that hidden power, igniting the flame in Izuku's soul once again.

He thought about it. Could he? He was just a quirkless kid. Nobody would listen to him. Just like it always was. But… this man. He believed in him. He wanted him to join him, to be something more. He wanted him to change the world, so no one would have to suffer anymore.

Still awed by the speech, Izuku took the man's hand and squeezed lightly. "How do I call you?" he whispered loudly.

A grin showed on the man's lips. "You can call me… Sensei."

* * *

**A/N:**

I AM HERE WITH THE NEW STORY!

Hi guys! So I've decided to go with it anyway and make a new story. As you can see, this one will be about Izuku being the villain. I've always thought of it as something very interesting. Some time ago the idea for it just randomly born in my head and after playing around with it for a while, I decided to give it a try.

Don't worry, BFTGU isn't on hiatus or abandoned. Using Mei's language, it's my first, precious baby. And as the prideful writer, I won't stop until its finished. Which will take quite a lot of time to be honest.

Also, right of the bat, THANK YOU HolyKnight5. I've contacted them about this story and asked for help. And story is immediately so, so much better. Of course, if any of you have any suggestions, I'll gladly take them into consideration.

Anyway, that's it for now. Enjoy the chapter and stay safe guys!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

When Izuku took Sensei's hand, deciding to follow the man and fulfill their desire to change the world, he expected something different. Like a powerful politician, who had the big vision, that would take years to turn into reality, so he needed a successor. A young child, who would inherit the will and teaching of said man, making sure, that everything will go smoothly after their predecessor passes away.

Villain. He was now a villain. A criminal, an outlaw, a person, who opposed the rules of their society and was chased after, only to be put to the prison.

When he was confronted with this at first, his mind literally stopped working as he fainted. In theory that was everything he, as a young Hero hopeful, should oppose with every fiber of his being.

The big surprise was that, while there were some people who committed crimes, because they wanted to kill, to rob, to mug, to spread chaos and destruction, most of so called villains were actually a common people with families and friends, who had no other way to make sure, they survive. They were given the moniker of 'villain', because people saw what they wanted and exaggerated things. It was a very valuable lesson.

But after a little bit over a year passed since the faithful meeting. One of the things that saddened him greatly, was the fact that the search party for him stopped almost immediately, after they'd found a bloodied shore. Police and Heroes gave up, saying that he was dead, that the quirkless kid wouldn't be able to survive. From what he was told, his mother tried to find him on her own, but she too gave up after nearly a half of the year. That left him with mixed feelings. He missed her, but was very well aware of the fact, that he wouldn't be able to do what he needed to do with her around. He was also a bit angry at her for giving up on him, but understood from why this had happened.

To be completely honest, he couldn't really see the difference between his current and past life. Well… there were some, but his general lifestyle didn't change that much. Instead of living with his mom, he now shared a flat with Kurogiri and another kid, Tomura.

From what he gathered, Kurogiri was some sort of Sensei's aid, who took care of them. The man was nice, calm and had a weird fixation about wearing a suit. He also ran a bar, which was under their home. The place served as some sort of a meeting spot for various criminals, who needed to discuss a job or just wanted a drink. Beside this, Kurogiri had really cool quirk. Being able to teleport to another place as long as you knew the coordinates was such a useful ability.

Izuku believed, that he befriended a man. At first he was a tad scared, because of the appearance of the bartender, but it turned out that conversations with Kurogiri could be pretty interesting. Ironically the man's dream was to travel around the world and see all of the marvelous place that he read in the books.

Then there was Tomura. He was… he was really something else. The boy was a few years older than him, about four, if he had to guess. The teen preferred to isolate himself from everything really. He kept hiding his face behind a hand, that Izuku was too terrified to ask, if it was a real one. He barely spoke to them, spending his days playing the games on the console or computer. When he was in the good mood, which wasn't really often, he invited Izuku to play. Actually it was more like an order, but not wanting to anger the boy, he complied.

Thanks to that, he discovered that he actually liked to play video games. Mostly those that made the player think about their strategies, solving current problems and planning for future. They were a good learning tool for developing his mind.

Tomura was easily irritated. Even a simplest thing that went against his wishes made him angry and throw a tantrum that sometimes only Sensei could nullify. Those moments always led to the use of the boy's quirk. Decay was no joke really. Anything touched with the five fingers turned to dust in the matter of seconds. Except bigger objects, those took more time. Izuku theorized around the cause of it, but with his current knowledge he couldn't really come up with a good explanation. Another thing about this… vile quirk was the fact that it was permanently turned on. It intrigued him, because as far as he knew, Emitter Type weren't like that.

At first the only mandatory thing that Sensei had him do, was the combat training. He needed to be able to protect himself and fight back, seeing as he was a villain now. His trainer, some kind of guy that was utterly devoted to Sensei, or maybe it was the money, make him do all kind of exercises to accustom his body for future, much more harder training. He was also learning how to use one of the most basic weapons for combat, knives. Be it stabbing, throwing or slashing. Izuku would say, that he was making rather good progress.

Of course he didn't want to settle on just this. Unlike Tomura, he wanted to continue to learn and expend his knowledge. Putting back the development of his mind was a big no-no for him. His intelligence was something that he was really proud of and saw it as something natural to polish. So he timidly asked Sensei for giving him some tutors, which made the man grin widely at him and commend his decision.

So the schedule was made, one that would allow him to maximize his study time and still gave him some freedom. To his great surprise and joy, Kurogiri was one of his teachers and taught him mathematics and geography. Feeling the need to recompensed the bartender's effort, he began helping around the bar. Be it preparing a snacks for guests or cleaning up. The man was shocked at first, but appreciated the gesture and gave him instructions on what to do.

One thing that he still continued was his searches for interesting quirks and analyzing them. Although there was a new piece of information, that he started to add to his notes. The countermeasure. The logic behind it was rather a simple one. He never knew, when he would have to fight against someone with that quirk or something similar. Of course it also helped him develop the skill to break down a quirk on spot, if he encountered something new.

Sensei was really pleased with it. The man even proposed to set up a meetings, during which they would delve into the quirk analysis, finding the strong and weak points of the power or just simply geek out about them. Needlessly to say, that he happily agreed for it. Only downside was Tomura's ire, that caused the teen to throw a tantrum. And he was the older one.

"So Izuku, how are you finding your life with us?" Sensei asked, while reading through a page from his notebook.

He bit his lip and peaked at the man. While he got accustomed to the powerful presence of the man, he still got occasional chills from it. But never from fear. It was closer to… excitement of what he was capable off.

"It's… less villainy then I thought." he admitted truthfully. One of the things that also changed about him was the vanish of his annoying stuttering. He wasn't sure why he developed it in the first place, but he was really thankful for whatever reason, that made it go away.

Sensei gave out a chuckle and set the notebook on a coffee table. "You're still young, there'll be a time, when you're going to wish for a time like this to return to you." The man said in sage tone, but still held that a smirk on his features.

Izuku nodded at that. He had quickly learnt that Sensei was really knowledgeable. He possessed a vast amount of information on many different matters. From time to time the man gave him small lectures about history. And they all sounded like he lived through them. Which would be kind of ridiculous. Sensei didn't look older than thirty something years old. Unless…

"Sensei…" Izuku begun a bit unsure of it, but a hum from the man encouraged him to continue. "What is your quirk?"

Sensei rose his brow. "Haven't I told you? I'm really sorry, Izuku. It must have slipped my mind." he didn't really sound apologetic about it. "My quirk is All For One. It allows me to take quirks of people and use them. I can also give them to others, although it's not always recommendable." The man stated proudly.

His jaw went slack and mind stopped working. What? He must be dreaming or something. A quirk like that to exist..

"How…" he started, but cut himself out to gather his thoughts that were all over a place. "How is it not known? I mean… You such an extraordinary power."

Sensei chuckled, clearly amused by his reaction, and grinned widely. "It's known, but only a selected individuals are aware of it."

"Why?" he pushed forward, his thirst of knowledge made it unable for him to stop at this moment.

"There are multiple reason." The man paused for a second. "Let me ask you a question. When the quirk begun to appear?"

He tilted his head at this, not understanding a purpose of this. "It begun with so called 'Luminescent Baby'. Seventh of April two thousand and twenty."

"Correct. As you're aware, after this many people, be it children, adult or elder, showed the signs of possessing one." Sensei finished, satisfied with his answer.

"What does it have to do with your quirk, Sensei?" Izuku asked, completely loss in their talk.

"One of the reasons, why it's not known, is because I am the person from that period of time." The man declared, making him stare dumbly.

"Wouldn't that make you like… two hundred year old?" he said in absolutely deadpanned tone.

"Two hundred thirty four to be exact." Sensei replied with a shrug. "I've grabbed a longevity quirk along the way." he informed him nonchalantly.

Izuku nodded at this information, already making mental notes of everything that he'd just learned. "What are the other reasons?"

Sensei gazed at him with a glint in his eyes and smirked dangerously. "Let me tell you a tale."

And so he sat there and listened to every word the man said to him. He learned about the uproar the society threw, when quirks came to be. About the hunts, that quirkless people organized against their families, friends and strangers out of the fear from the unknown powers. How Sensei was the first one to unite and defend the quirked individuals. How the man took the powers from those, who didn't want them and gave them to people, who wanted to reunite with their loved ones. How he opposed the government iron rule and purges. How he loved his little brother.

"Tenjirou was a frail one, he always was shielded from world. He grew up with only me around, seeing as our parents were busy with their work." Sensei said fondly, a small smile adoring his face. "He helped me with organizing shelters for quirked and took care of them, when I was away. To protect him, I gave him a quirk that slowly stockpiled power overtime. Nothing too fancy, but enough to get him by." A smile vanished, replaced by a grimace. "Unfortunately they captured him. And instead of killing him, they did the dirtiest thing possible. They turned him against me, showing him the fabricated footages of me killing people and destroying things. Spewing lies of how I was some kind of evil lord, that wanted to take over the Japan. They made him one of the first Heroes."

Izuku gulped loudly. He knew, he shouldn't, but his curiosity got better of him. "What have happened after this?"

Sensei gazed at him with great amount of sadness and pain. "We battled. I'd tried to reason with him, show him just how far in the web of conspiracy he was, but he didn't listen to me." The man paused for a moment, many emotions passing his features. "I wasn't able to hurt my beloved, little brother, so I fled from our battlefield." he gave out a meritless laugh. "But I didn't know, that this fight would haunt me for centuries… One For All" he spat out those words with great anger. "I truly loathe this quirk."

Izuku blinked at the new piece of information. Unfortunately, before he could ask for more, Sensei's phone pinged. The man checked the massage and frowned deeply.

"I'm sorry, Izuku. Looks like, we'll have to cut our meeting short." he sounded rather displeased about it. "I'll see you next week, okay? Try to not get devoured by your curiosity, okay?" Sensei added with small, pleasant smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

There was no meeting next week. In fact Izuku didn't see Sensei for a whole three months. At first he thought that maybe the man was just too busy with his activities and simply had forgotten. Of course he immediately shot down this idea. Sensei would let him know in advance via Kurogiri, but no such information had reached him.

Fortunately for him, he was rather smart, at least he liked to think so, and quickly pieced together the reason for it. He wasn't sure, if he was supposed to be awed, scared or simply dumbfounded. He didn't know how it had happened or when exactly, but he was more than sure that he was right on his money.

Sensei had fought with All Might.

He didn't get any confirmation about his assumption. But after their last meeting, Japan gave a huge celebration for Number One Hero's return from his stay in America. And when he said huge, he meant ginormous. Music, fireworks, parade, plays, movies. Basically anything one could think of.

That of course enraged Tomura, putting him into a very foul mood for a next few days. He was extremely wary of the boy during those periods. He didn't want to accidentally cross some kind of invisible line, offending the teen and getting his things destroyed. Or having his life put at the edge of the knife.

A day before his planned meeting with Sensei, he caught the sight of Kurogiri behaving weird. Like the man was very distressed about something. When asked about a reason, the bartender just told him that having All Might back in the country put him, and many villains, out of the comfort zone.

Which he supposed was true. He would be lying, if he told someone, that he wasn't scared of having the Number One Hero around, patrolling the streets and effortlessly catching criminals like them. Funny how it works. Before he basked in the light that Symbol Of Peace illuminated their society. Now he was more than afraid of being scorched by it.

After about a week from All Might's return a single article showed up. It was about a huge crater that popped out of nowhere, close to the small, coast village. After it all media jumped at the news, but for some reason as soon as it begun, it ended without any sufficient answer.

Another thing that media took deep interest in, was lack of them seeing Symbol Of Peace despite him being in the country. Someone from Hero Public Safety Commission gave the public speech about the matter. And while the reasoning there was rather sound, Izuku couldn't help, but call it a total bullshit. The politician was lying through his teeth.

A few days ago he decided that he was spending the night on one of the bar's couches. Reason? Tomura all but trashing the apartment, while spewing the river of curses. Izuku had never seen the teen so enraged. He doubted that his room was left untouched from this.

He suspected that the boy finally got answer regarding Sensei or was taken to him. Either of those were enough to push him over the edge.

After things settled down a bit, he came to Kurogiri and requested to be taken to Sensei. The bartender didn't flinch or question it. He made a phone call, which lasted only a few seconds. A portal opened and Izuku stepped through it.

He didn't recognize the place he was in. It was very dark and the air had weird feeling to it. Like there was just too much moisture in it. Before him was a heavy, white curtain, that completely obscured what was hidden behind it. He heard some kind of machines, many of them actually, making all sort of noises.

He swallowed hard and walked forward, opening the curtain just enough to slip in. His body froze and his mind didn't fare any better.

There he lay on the hospital bed, wearing a plain, white hospital robe. His arms were hooked to so many IV drops, that he had hard time counting them. From under the covers he saw some kind of pipe going out, connected to a machine, which purpose he didn't know. And the face… All that remained was a mouth covered by a breathing mask. The rest was just a scar tissue. An angry red, horrifying mass of destroyed skin. He could barely see where the nose or eyes once were.

"Ah, Izuku… You finally came to visit me." Sensei said, barely above the whisper. His voice was rough and dry. And the most scaring thing about it? There was no trace of the same hidden power behind it. "I know that it looks disgusting."

"No, not at all." he retorted quickly, flinching at his own words.

Sensei gave out a weak chuckle, followed by rapid coughing. A strained smile settled on the man's lips. "You don't need to try and make me feel better." Sensei told him, blowing away any more attempts to do exactly that. "Do I scare you? Does the way I look, is repulsive to you?"

Izuku bit his lip and gazed at the floor. His mind compared the two images in it. The current one and the previous one. A frown came too naturally at it. However… "No." he replied calmly, yet all his might was behind it. "You're still my Sensei. The way you look doesn't change anything."

A smile changed into a smirk, the one that he got used to seeing. It reassured him that despite the tragedy the man had suffered, this was still the same person.

"What I feel is… anger." Izuku admitted truthfully. Anger wasn't exactly new to him, but for some reason this time it was different. He could really explain why. It was like a raging inferno inside resided inside his core, yet the fire was colder than dry ice.

"Does it have to do anything with All Might?" Sensei questioned in curious tone. A neutral expression settling on his features, or at least what was remaining of them.

Izuku took a moment to think about it. "In a way…" he started slowly, with a small frown. "He was the one, who fought and scarred you, but…" he gazed straight at them man. "What I hate is One For All and the teaching following it. Or at least part of it." he said with as much conviction as he could muster.

Sensei was quiet for a few moments. From the way his jaw moved, Izuku guessed that the man was thinking deeply. "How did you pieced it together?" Sensei asked in interest.

Izuku scratched his temple and gave a sheepish laugh. "To be honest I kind of went blind with it. The only thing supporting this theory was the fact, you'd said that you gave your brother a quirk that stockpiles power and that One For All was chasing you since then." It really was just it. There wasn't much more evidence to prove him right, but a hunch made him go with it.

A small, graceful smile showed on Sensei's lips. "You're really intelligent and observant, Izuku." The man said, making him blush a little at the praise. "You're quite right with it. Turns out my brother possessed a quirk. It allowed him to pass his power to other person, that wasn't related to him, by giving his DNA. His original quirk merged with the one I gave him, creating One For All." Sensei explained in a bit irritated voice.

To say he was flabbergasted wouldn't cut it. He knew that quirks were weird, but this? What were the odds for this to happen? Two quirks merging together into one power. No wonder that All Might was so powerful. He was given the quirk cultivated for about two hundred years.

"To battle such a quirk I had to build a great arsenal on my own. Yet it seems like the stockpiled power caught up to me." Sensei admitted bitterly, before becoming silent after it.

Izuku swallowed hard, before taking a huge breath. He was going to say something very, very bold. "Don't worry, Sensei. I won't allow your… our dream to die in vain. I'm going to work really hard and make sure that it becomes a reality."

There was no noise from the man, but a slightly opened jaw suggested that Sensei didn't expect this. All he could do now, was waiting for some kind of answer.

"If I had strength, I would clap. I'm deeply moved by your dedication, Izuku." The man announced in pride tone. "There is a tough path before you to archive it. So let me ask you a question. Would you like a quirk?" That certainly caught him off guard. "If yes, then what kind? Something that gives you the control over the elements? Or maybe a power up type? Oh, I know. Something subtle and tricky, yet when mastered a quite powerful. Yes, that seems like the type of quirk, that would suit you perfectly."

There was no mockery in Sensei's voice. If anything, the man was dead serious about it.

Having a quirk. How much he longed to have one? How much he dreamed or prayed for it? When he was younger he tried to attract objects to him or breath fire, yet nothing ever had happened. In this moment of honesty, he recognized that he was envious. Envious of having some kind of power that would give him the individuality in this cursed world.

Relaxing his body, that became tense without him knowing it, he gazed at Sensei. "No." His voice was serine, laced with conviction and showing his strong will. "While there is no doubt that having a quirk, would be useful in the long run, I want to full fit our goal, the way I am."

"Even if it was All For One?" Sensei asked in mysterious tone.

"Even if it was All For One." Izuku replied immediately. There was no hesitation here. However the great temptation was to wield that power, he wasn't going to break. He wanted to show the world that even a quirkless person could make a difference.

Sensei chuckled, once again paying the price in form of coughing. "I'm truly amazed by your will and dedication." A kind smile showed on his mouth.

Before he could say anything, he heard the sound of Kurogiri's portal opening behind him.

"Ah, we must have run out of time. Doctor is very careful for me to not overexert myself" The man stated with a hint of sadness in his tone.

He walked to the curtain and lifted it, but didn't step through. Biting his lip, he thought for a second. "Sensei." he called, gaining the man's attention. "Whenever you want and feel up to a meeting, please tell Kurogiri. I'll leave anything I'm doing and come to visit you." A bright smile showed on his face. "Besides we've got about a three months of quirk research to catch up on."

The man grinned widely at his promise. "I certainly will remember that."

* * *

A week passed since a visit. His head cooled down a little, allowing him to think exactly on HOW he was going to stand behind his words. He wasn't going to back down from it, he wasn't shallow or anything like this.

There were several problems that League of Villains possessed. First and the most obvious one was the lack of Sensei's active support. Now that the man was recovering, and even after it, he would be a passive player. A guide. Most likely Sensei would remain in shadows until the next encounter with All Might or his successor.

Problem number two. Their League existed only on paper. They weren't some kind of big yakuza group that was feared in the Underworld. They weren't a group of villains with decimating powers. They had no connections. All there was to it was a taxi bartender, a teen with anger management issues and a quirkless, nerdy kid. Not really the most fearsome opponent.

Problem number three was kind of linked to number two. Manpower or rather lack of it. They had only three members. And while cannon folders in form of common thugs were rather easy to acquire with the promise of money or some goods, but it wouldn't cut. They were in need for real people, who would always be there. It didn't really matter what kind of quirk they had. The dedicated people, who would back them up in their endeavor, this was something that they had to gain and unfortunately it would only happen slowly overtime.

Of course there were numerous of smaller ones, but those could be dealt with in due time.

Izuku sighed loudly, taking a detour in his walk. He went out to clear his head, however he couldn't help it, but think of their issues. He would lie, if he said that he didn't start to be a bit too obsessed in that manner.

A soft groan pulled him out of his mussing. Snapping his gaze, he searched the alley he was in for its source. There, next to the garbage bin, was sitting a person. Male in his early twenties, with short, spiky, crimson hair. Much of his skin on neck, torso and arms was burned. His T-shirt was in tatters with some charred places here and there, his jeans and shoes weren't in better state.

Quickly rushing to the man and kneeling next to them, he called. "Hey? Can you hear me?"

The person moved his head and turquoise, hazy eyes looked at him. The guy's lips moved, however no sound came out.

Fishing out a phone from his pocket, Izuku picked a number to Kurogiri. "Don't worry. You're safe now. I'm here for you." he told the man, trying to reassure him.

The only answer he got was a twitch of the lips and a relaxed sigh.

* * *

**A/N:**

Sorry for the delay, guys. My family came with unexpected visit and I couldn't prepare it in time.

I think that I would call this chapter a real starting line for this story. And seeing as it's still very early, if any of you has any idea, you can PM me. I'm not saying that I'm going to use it fully, but taking a bits from here and there would no doubt make this story flourish.

Anyway, enjoy this chapter and see you in the next update!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

Izuku peeked from his notebook to gaze at the young man, who was laying motionlessly on the bed. After the man passed out in his arms, he dragged him through the portal Kurogiri opened for him to the same clinic he landed in, when Sensei found him. The staff took the stranger right away from him to the room and begun tending to his wounds. It took them few hours, mostly due to the unknown blood group and severe burns all over the body. Despite it, he waited for them to come out and asked a doctor, if he could see the patient. Gaining the permission and walking into the room, he saw the man wrapped like a mummy with IV hooked to his left and monitor showing the heartbeat.

And so for the next three days, Izuku visited the alien man, whenever he could. Why he did that? He wasn't exactly sure about it. Was it a part of him that still hung to his previous, inane dream of being a Hero? Was it that he felt obligated to do it, to just keep the man company in his sleep, so when he eventually woke up, he would have someone familiar to welcome him? Wait, would he be remembered? That guy only saw him for a few seconds, so chances of that happening were rather small.

A frown marred his face. For some strange reason he felt, that this man looked rather familiar to him. Tapping the rubber of his pencil against his bottom lip, Izuku though hard about it.

He of course had checked missing reports in Yokohama, but he couldn't find anyone poster with a man that would suit the visage. After it he tried to look a bit father up, yet he still came empty handed.

A soft groan reached his ears, snapping him from his mussing. He glanced at the stranger and saw him steering up a bit. Putting away his things, Izuku stood up and stepped next to the bed.

The man's eyelids flickered a bit, before cracking just enough to allow the light to hit the eyeballs. A hazy, turquoise orbs roamed around the room, before landing on his face.

"Hey, can you understand me?" Izuku asked, speaking as clearly as he could. Young man moved his head a bit, indicating that he was indeed conscious and could comprehend what he heard. "Great. You're in the private clinic. I've found you in alley. The medical personnel patched up your wound." he informed the man, gaining another nod. "I'm going to call the doctor to let him see you, okay?"

Gathering his things into his backpack, he went to the door. Before leaving though, he peeked one more time at the enigmatic man. He was following him with his eyes and his look was filled with mix of different emotions. However he could clearly see a broken soul, hiding behind those orbs. Smiling reassuringly, Izuku left the room, making a silent promise to visit again.

* * *

The next time he came by to see mysterious man was a few days later. During the break, he searched more databases to try and find the identity of the patient. Unsurprisingly he still couldn't find anything.

However he got a hunch, that may or may not get him to somewhere. For now though he was going to refrain from asking questions. The successful recovery of the man came first.

Stepping into the room, with a small smile on his features, he gazed at the stranger. Most of the bandages were removed, although those covering the burns still remained in their place. He also saw that nurses allowed some more loose wrapping around the mouth to allow the man to talk and drink a little.

Just as he was going in, he saw that the stranger tried to reach towards the plastic cup with a straw, that stood on the table. His hand and arm movement were really slow and uncoordinated.

Quickening his step, Izuku took the cup and brought it towards man's mouth. The guy looked at him and tilted his head, catching the straw. He drunk slowly, yet his gulps were rather loud. When he finished, he let out an overly satisfied sigh.

"Tha-anks." The man said quietly, his voice gruff and cracking here and there. Looks like his throat also suffered some sort of damage.

"No problem really." Izuku replied and put the cup away. Grabbing a chair, he dragged it closer to the bed and sat at it. This was the stranger could see him, without moving his neck too much. "I thought that you could use the company during your stay here." he announced cheerfully. "Well… some company except from the nurses and doctors checking on you."

The man gave a light nod, keeping his eyes locked with Izuku's. His gaze showed that he was rather cautious about him, but it didn't discourage him in any way.

"Seeing as you still have troubles with speaking, I'll do most of the talking." he told the man, before giving an awkward laugh and scratching his cheek. "Fair warning though. If I start saying anything about the quirks, I tend to get… a bit overzealous."

Every next visit after that one was similar in the matter. Izuku came and sat on the chair, begun talking about all sorts of topics, getting a good grasp about which the man was most interested in and which bored him so much, that he had literally fallen asleep. He helped the stranger with thinks like drinking or changing his position on the bed.

He avoided asking personal questions, waiting until the man would lose that defensive gaze. He also didn't talk too much about himself. While he gave out the details like his favorite type of music or movies, he didn't think it would be too wise to straight up say, that he was a villain. Even, if it was only on paper.

* * *

"So how is that young man doing, Izuku?" Sensei asked, moving his shogi pawn across the board.

It made him really glad, when the man begun asking for a meetings. At first there were rather short and had huge gaps between them. However recently they became more frequent and their duration also extended. Ironically, the doctor who was watching over Sensei's recovery and was the owner of the clinic, turned out to be the same doctor, who gave him his quirkless diagnosis. World really is small.

What truly gave him joy, was the fact that the man was able to see. Well… that was a bit of a stretch. They had found a quirk, that allowed the user to use something similar to echolocation. With this, Sensei could finally recognize shapes of things, making his bedridden life much easier.

The man all but proposed him to start bringing the shogi board, saying that he greatly enjoyed playing the game. Of course Izuku had absolutely no clue how to play shogi. Fortunately for him, Sensei took his time, explaining the rules, pawns movement and some basic strategies. That being said, he still got his ass brutally beaten every time.

"He gets better and better every day." Izuku replied, taking out one of Sensei's pieces, saving him from yet another miserable loss. "He's more comfortable with me, although he still behaves like a wounded animal."

The man let out a chuckle. "Give it some time. Even when you're a villain, kindness can be your greatest weapon in gaining allies and spreading fear through your enemies." Sensei lectured him in knowing tone, before moving his pawn and therefor grabbing a victory.

Releasing a sigh, Izuku leaned against his chair, throwing his head behind him. While he was getting better and better with every game, he still was nowhere near close winning. One day he was going to beat that two hundred plus year old cryptid, even if it would be at his death door. Wow, what a sore loser he was.

Peeking at the clock on the table near the bed, he saw that they still had some time. Enough for another swift defeat in shogi game.

"Sensei." Izuku called, still maintaining his position. The man hummed softly, to show that he was listening. "I was wondering about something. Which holder of One For All All Might is?"

"Ah, still gathering data I see." From the way Sensei said it, he could hear the smirk on his face. "He's eighth one."

Eighth, huh? And next person to get this quirk would get even more powerful. Symbol of Peace was already a monster, that only Sensei could take out. A successor was going to be even more problematic. Maybe there was a way to stop the transfer? Or maybe the person, who got this ridiculous quirk could be guided, showing them the real truth about the ugly world they lived in? That sounded as some kind of wishful thinking.

"Sensei? Can you tell me anything about the previous holders? Something that they had in common." Izuku asked, his mind already formulating plans on how to proceed in case of the potential transfer.

He heard the man hum quietly and saw that he touched his chin in thinking manner. "All of them had a bright presence and a strong sense of justice, no matter how twisted by government it was. I had fought against almost all of them. Only a second holder outright told me that she wasn't going to have even a skirmish with me." Sensei laughed a bit. "I was truly stupefied by it. Of course those who went against me, died in battle." The man paused for a second. "Despite them being my enemies, I always showed them respect, leaving their bodies intact. Of course I've tried to reason with them many times, yet my cries of understanding fell deaf to their ears. I didn't want to kill them, they didn't deserve this." Sensei sounded rather somber about it. Izuku could only imagine, just how much the man went through for it to break his usual compose. "All, but one of them." he added with great amount of anger through his tightly gritted teeth.

Izuku jumped a little at the amount of bloodlust and hate pouring from the man. It was the first time he had ever see Sensei in this state. A sweat gathered on his forehead and he had hard time with breathing. Like some invisible force was squeezing the life out of him.

And just like that it was all gone, when Sensei released a deep sigh. The man turned to him and gave apologetic smile to him. "Sorry for that, Izuku. It seems that some wounds aren't healed properly."

"It's okay… I, umm, I understand." he replied, wiping his forehead with his hoodie's arm.

Sensei chuckled a bit. "You're truly a kind person, Izuku. Please, keep that trait no matter what."

* * *

Izuku sat comfortably on his bed, tugging his laptop between his legs. For what seemed to be a thousand time, he checked the plugging on his headphones. Good, it was connected properly.

The year was nearing its end and while it meant many things for people, there was one event that everyone in Japan was going to watch tonight. Or almost everyone. When he kindly, and a tad timidly, asked Tomura to watch it with him, the teen gave him a cold, mocking gaze, before saying to piss off.

The Hero Billboard Chart was going to be released, showing the results of this year Heroes job. He, like many others, was mostly interested in Top Ten. Although it was more than obvious that All Might was going to secure a Number One spot yet again, even despite the lack of his presence ever since the fight with Sensei.

Taking a bite of his snack, that Kurogiri no doubt would yell at him for being unhealthy, Izuku watched the grand gala. This year it was organized in the centrum of Osaka.

He saw many Heroes there, some just coming to cheer for their colleagues, others to receive a prize for exceeding in some field.

When he was younger, he always got overexcited for this event, making many theories about which Hero would get what placement. And while he still followed the media and online portals dedicated to Heroes activity, to prepare his picks, he approached it differently.

For him it was a giant sham. The ranking didn't represent approval ratings of Top Ten, but the amount of solved cases and their complicity. This way, even when the most unpopular Hero could grab the high spot in ranking.

Still though, it was kind of ridiculous to do this. The Heroes were supposed to help people in needs and take part in fights, where quirks were used. Not be some kind of celebrities, that got bigger wages and POLITICAL influence due to their rank.

Shaking his head and getting rid of unnecessary thoughts, Izuku listened to the speaker, who ran the show. He agreed with honorable mentions for Ryukyu and Mirko, those two Heroines did really good during this year, after opening their own agencies. The presence of Yoroi Musha wasn't all that surprising, seeing as he was holding a firm spot in Top Ten for over a thirty years. He was kind of surprised to see that none of his strong picks got placed in Top Three. Best Jeanist, Edgeshot and Gang Orca showed a great amount of participations in this year's trouble in Kyushu after a devastating tsunami hit the southern coast of island.

He was kind of shocked to see that Hawks took the Number Three spot for him. He was a young Hero, that graduated from some low ranked high school Hero Course this year. The man almost immediately opened his own agency and begun quite literally flying around the Japan, solving any and all problems he came across. Izuku didn't really thought he solved so many cases to get such a high placement. Wait, didn't that made him the youngest Hero to ever reach Top Ten?

He almost allowed a laughter to burst out from his mouth, when he that Endeavor was once again placed second. If he had any say in this, he would take away bastard's license and make him do all sort of community jobs. Really, how was that guy even allowed to be a Hero was beyond him. Endeavor was short tempered, finely matching his fire quirk. While he was strong, he used too much brute force, often making even bigger mess in the places he was fighting. He never gave the fan an autograph. And how he had those was truly beyond Izuku.

A camera feed rolled to show the scowling face of Number Two Hero. The man's turquoise eyes were glaring at the spot were All Might should be.

He almost spewed out his drink, when his mind came to the abrupt halt. Wait a freaking second!

Pausing a transmission, Izuku all but glued his gaze to Endeavor's face, taking it sights. Quickly opening a new tab, he hastily typed keywords and choose a few articles about Number Two Hero, that featured him and his family. There weren't many, especially with pictures, but he managed to get his hands on one.

The results coming from his comparison put him in great joy and bewilderment.

* * *

"Oh, it's you again, kid?"

Izuku smiled toward the man. After those almost three months since he found him, the stranger was finally getting better. Now he could easily talk, drink and walk a bit without any help. Bandages were also gone, showing to the world his gnarled, wrinkled purple skin under his eyes and lower jaw, neck, collarbone, arms and legs. It was attached to his healthy skin by many surgical staples.

When the man could finally talk freely, he begun calling him per kid. He hid that it kind of ticked him off.

Taking a seat near bed, Izuku smiled kindly. "I heard from doctor that your recovery is almost complete."

"Yeah. Back to living between garbage, I guess." The man replied nonchalantly.

Straightening his back and gazing at the patient, he said in cheerful voice. "About that. I may be able to help you with it… Touya Todoroki."

He effortlessly dodged a jab and put the distance between them. The man seemed to be quite enraged by this.

Touya Todoroki was Endeavor's oldest son. From articles he read threw he had his sights set on heroics from young aged, claiming the want to become a Hero. There were also some following his rather successful sports career, but those were far fewer in numbers.

"How the fuck do you know?" Todoroki-san asked in low hiss. A blue flames begun dancing on his fingertips.

Shaking of his fascination about the quirk, Izuku showed his hands in the gesture of peace. "You always seemed a bit familiar to me. When I saw Endeavor during the announcement of Top Ten, it hit me. You should see his pissed of face, when he was declared a Number Two once again." From their conversations, or rather his monologs, he got a fairly good grasp of just how much the man despised that particular Hero. He kind of betted, that making a laugh out of Endeavor was going to help his situation.

"Bitch got what he deserved." Todoroki-san grunted, yet showed no sign of relaxing.

Gulping and taking a breath, Izuku put a small, innocent smile on his lips. "Um, can I sit down, so we can talk? I promise, I won't do anything funny."

"Why would I trust you?" The patient asked, a tongues of his azure flames gained a bit more intense.

"Well… I kind of saved your life. Plus I really want to help you." he replied truthfully.

Todoroki-san grimaced a bit, before making his flames disappear and putting down his arm. The man sat on his bed and watched him with wary eyes. "Okay, sit. But no funny business. You try and use your quirk on me, and I'll roast you alive." The treat was very real, when it was said in that kind of dead serious tone.

Letting out a laugh and grabbing a chair from the floor, Izuku replied. "Kind of hard to do it, when you're quirkless." He immensely enjoyed the dumbstruck expression on the man's face. Putting his hands on his lap and once again adopting the kind smile on his face, he cleared his throat. "I have a proposition for you. I just want you to listen to it and say, if you agree to it or no." Todoroki-san gave him a light nod. "Would it be okay to refer to you by your last name?"

"No." The man replied harshly.

"Then your name it is." he peeked at him, to ensure there was no trouble with it. He didn't get any conformation, but there wasn't any sign of displeasure. "I've left a bit of information about me, Touya-san. You see, I'm a part of villainous organization." he saw him rising his brow in questionable manner. "Yeah… we didn't do much. Actually at all, but what separates us from the rest of the criminal community is our beliefs and goal." Izuku paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "We want to change our society. The world we live in is twisted and polluted with lies, prejudice and such. Our group wish to change it."

"Sorry to interrupt you, but you all sound like a bunch of sour losers." Touya-san remarked with as much bite as he could muster.

Chuckling to himself, Izuku nodded his head. "I guess you're quite right in that statement."

"So what, you want me to join your little band of goody kids, who had their ass handled to them?" The man asked with loud snort. "Forget about it." he added with a dismissing wave of his palm.

Okay, time to bring out big guns. "You know about All Might's disappearance, right? Our founder is the one behind it." he informed, burning the bewilderment face of Touya-san's into his memory. "He's still alive, but we suspect that he's conditions isn't too great. But about it we can talk later. Please tell me, do you truly believe people like Endeavor should be Heroes?" he questioned in innocent manner, but there was a hint of anger behind it.

Touya-san snarled, giving out a low growl. "Like hell. Bastards like him should be locked away."

Nodding to himself, Izuku allowed to laugh a little. "I'm in agreement with this. Our goal includes assuring that only right people will be allowed to be Heroes." he stopped to give a soft sigh. "We're still a young group and we're in need of members with right mentality, who'd be dedicated to us and our cause. I won't hide, that during my visit with you, I got the feeling that you too disagree with how things are nowadays." Gazing at Touya-san, he was him nodding a bit hesitantly. "That's why I'm asking you to help us. Of course, we're going to help you in whatever you'll need."

That was pretty much it from his side. If this wasn't enough to persuade the man to join them, then he would just let go. Although it would kind of hurt him. He kind of grew into Touya-san, finding an understanding within him.

Glancing at the man, he saw him thinking hard about the proposal. He could almost hear the cogs turning into his head. After a few more moments, Touya-san gazed at him with steel in his eyes and rose two fingers.

"I have two requests." The man said in the voice that left no room for negotiations. "One, I'm the one that takes down this flaming garbage can." Izuku quickly nodded at this, finding absolutely no trouble with this. "Two, I want you to get me a hair dye."

Blinking at the odd request, his mind processed what had just happened. Laughing softly and grinning a bit, he asked with joy. "What color?"

Touya-san mirrored his grin. "Black one."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

* * *

"Who the fuck is he?" Tomura asked in low hissing voice, glaring daggers at Touya-san.

An outright hostility. The worst possible outcome, that strangely didn't surprise Izuku at all. He betted that the boy would show the cold indifference, like he did toward him. However after Sensei's injury, Tomura was in the constant stated of being pissed off. On his good days he would just glare at someone and huff angrily. On bad ones… let's just say that the amount of glasses they needed to order for bar skyrocketed.

He opened his mouth to say something, hoping to at least calm Tomura enough to stop scratching his neck, showing how frustrated he was. However Touya-san rose his hand, signaling him to stop. He still couldn't get rid of the bewilderment of just how different the young man looked in black hair. Quirking his brow, he gazed at the new recruit with interest. Was he going to introduce himself in proper manner, trying to get their leader's respect or something akin to it?

"I'm Dabi?" Touya-san said in lazy manner.

Dabi? Cremation? Why would he call himself that? Was it perhaps the name of his quirk? Even if it was, why use this instead of his name?

"Dabi." Tomura repeated tilting his head a little. "What kind of a lame name is it?" The boy asked in mocking tone.

"Dunno. Ask your mom." The young man replied, shrugging his shoulders to add more insult.

"Why you?!" The leader screamed, lunging at Touya-san with outstretched arm. Before he could reach his target, a black portal opened before him, sending Tomura at the other end of the bar. "Kurogiri! Don't get involved!" The teen shouted the order angrily.

"Sensei approved the addition of him." The bartender told them simply, still wiping off the glass.

Swallowing hard, Izuku took a step forward and opened his arms in welcoming gesture. "Exactly. Think of Dabi as our new guild member. He's got strong stats and wants to help us. I promise, you won't be disappointed, Tomura." he learnt early that using gaming terminology was quite helpful in explaining things to their leader, so he studied it a little for exactly those kind of situations.

The teen gazed at him with his tiny crimson eyes, as if he wanted to drill a hole through his head. An irritated mumble followed by the scratching of his red skin on the neck, signaled that the boy was thinking hard about it. "You better be right." he said in threatening manner, before returning to his previous spot. On the way back he hit his shoulder against Touya-san, who just brushed it off.

Letting out a breath, Izuku calmed down his nerves. That went surprisingly well. Much better than he anticipated. In his mind he saw the whole building in flames, slowly crumbling to dust, while the two beat the shit out of each other.

"Come with me, I will show you your room." he informed Touya-san, who simply nodded and followed him upstairs. Biting his lip, he peeked over his shoulder, not knowing, if he should ask his question or no.

A sigh left the young man's lips. His turquoise orbs gazed at him lazily from half-lidded eyes. "Ask away, kid."

Flinching in place, Izuku scratched his cheek nervously. Was he that obvious? "Um… Why didn't you reveal your identity?"

Touya-san hummed and stayed silent for a moment. "I guess I don't want to be seen anymore as the son of that flaming bastard. The less people know, the better." he explained with indifference, although at the mention of Endeavor there was a hint of anger.

Izuku nodded to himself, keeping that in mind. He still was curious about the young man's past, but for now other things took priority. Like helping Touya-san with his rehabilitation. The clinic staff informed him that while he was good enough to be released, he needed to exercise in order to gain back his previous strength. Of course Izuku took it upon himself to see that the man would follow the training regime.

He stopped before a simple white door that lead to Touya-san's room. He silently thanked Kurogiri for placing the man next to him and as far away from Tomura's as it was possible. Standing aside he gestured at the entrance, smiling kindly.

Touya-san grabbed the handle and cracked the door open, just enough to slip inside. However, before he went, Izuku half-mumbled another question.

"How do you want me to refer to you?"

The man stopped mid-step and stood there for a few seconds, letting the tension grow. "You can call me by my name, when we're alone, kid." he said without turning around.

When the doors closed, a small smile made its way on Izuku's lips. It was a sign of trust from Touya-san. He vowed that he wouldn't break it. For now they were only a two members of the same organization, who happened to understand each other a little more. But he wanted the man to become his friend. His first, real friend.

* * *

Did doctor say that Touya-san needed a rehabilitation? Because to Izuku it looked like the young man was more in shape than he was. The proof of it? Him trying to catch up to the man, who was running at least ten meters ahead of him.

It all began, when Izuku proposed an evening jog, to work out a good sweat before a night and pump some more oxygen into their bodies. It took a bit of convincing, but finally Touya-san agreed. Although he was a tad annoyed at him for it.

The young man changed into sportswear, taking a sweatshirt with high collar and hood, medical facemask and gloves. Was he self-conscious about his scars? Or did he not want to attract any attention to them? He felt like he should ask, but feared angering the man.

After arriving to the park, they started jogging one next to each other in rather slow tempo. Ending the first lap around the perimeter, Touya-san asked, if they could go faster. Izuku had no problem with it, seeing as he throw on an easy pace, having in mind a bad shape of his companion.

How wrong he was.

Touya-san all but shoot forward, leaving him in dust. He was still jogging thought. And the difference in their heights, thus the distance they covered with each step, didn't really mattered, because the man was barely moving his legs. Yet despite all of this, Izuku still couldn't catch up to him.

Ending the sixth lap, Touya-san stopped near entrance waiting for him. Coming to the man, he supported his arms on his knees and tried to catch his breath, puffing loudly.

"Not like that, kid." The young man mumbled under his nose. Looking up, Izuku saw him pointing at his chest. "Stand straight up and take deep, slow breaths. Breath in through your nose, hold it for a second or two and release through your mouth." Touya-san explained, showing how it was done correctly.

Taking the advice, he proceeded doing exactly what was told to him. Surprisingly he recovered faster than he ever did from any physical activity. His heart rate calmed and with it, he could clearly feel the slightly burning muscles in his legs easing up. It was strangely pleasant.

"Thanks." he said, smiling lightly.

"Whatever…" Touya-san replied with shrug. Stepping closer to the nearby bench, he put one leg on it and begun pushing slightly on it. "We need to stretch, kid. Otherwise your muscles are going to cramp."

Nodding slightly, Izuku followed the example, copying the exercises the older boy did. He was amazed just by how flexible Touya-san was. He didn't look like someone, who'd spent last four months in hospital bed with little to no movement.

"Um, Touya-san?" Izuku asked, trying to reach toward his toes while standing. The young man hummed to him, signaling that he was listening. "How did you run so fast? Your steps weren't bigger than mine, yet you still left me behind." It wasn't only to strike the conversation with the older boy, he was generally curious about it.

"It's simple. I have stronger toes." Came the mysterious reply, that absolutely didn't explain anything to him. Gazing at the Touya-san, he awaited the continuation, that begun after deep sigh. "When you walk, jog, run or sprint the last part of your body that has contact with a surface is your toes. If you don't kick hard enough with them, than you can't spring forward. You can easily tell the difference on soft ground, like sand or gravel. Of course having strong toes will help you with things other than running. For example the quick shifting of weight, which is important in sports like boxing or martial arts in general."

Izuku looked at Touya-san with utter astonishment. Not only he clearly explained where the difference laid, but also gave him example of another valid application of this. "You're really knowledgeable, Touya-san." he stated in awe.

The older boy looked to the side and scratched the back of his head through the hood. "Whatever, kid."

Did he sound a bit happy about it or was Izuku just imagining it?

* * *

Izuku watched from the sidelines, how Touya-san kept burning dummies to a crisp with a well thrown balls of blue fire, precise aimed flamethrowers or by simply bursting his flames, when touching a target with a palm. When he heard that the young man wanted to practice with his quirk a little, he all but jumped at the chance of cataloging it in his notebook. Asking politely, he got a reply in form of a shrug, which pretty much meant that the older boy didn't mind.

Already filling out a third page, Izuku scanned through his notes again. This fire quirk was similar to Endeavor's, which wasn't that surprising, since he was Touya-san's father. But there was one, crucial difference. The temperature of the flames. From what he remembered from his science and chemistry lessons, the hotter the fire was, the more it shifted toward the blue coloring. Of course some substations could also change the color, for example boron would give a green flames. However that one was quickly crossed out, when he saw one dummy catching fire from the one near it.

This was magnificent in a way. Not only those azure tongues of fire were beautiful, but they could quickly burn to ashes anything they touched. It was terrifying and amazing at the same time.

Of course nothing came without a cost. Quirks were directly connected to one's body, affecting its shape and the way it functioned. In a sense they were muscles. The more you trained them, the more powerful they became, the more your body adapted to it. However there were the cases, when a quirk was simply too much.

Touya-san seemed to be the great example of it. Every few minutes he needed to take a break, plunging his hands into the buckets filled with ice. Almost immediately a huge amount of water vapor was released, showing just how hot he was, leaving just a little of liquid at the bottom. An instant sublimation, he dully noted.

Biting on his lip, Izuku stepped closer to the young man, who was resting on the floor from all the training he did. Gazing at his hands, he saw little patch of red on them. Touya-san was keeping a neutral expression with closed eyelids, but from the way he was shifting his palms, Izuku guessed that he had a slight discomfort.

"Touya-san? Can I ask you something?" he questioned, keeping his eyes on the scarred arms.

"You just did, kid." The boy replied quietly.

Smiling lightly at the cheeky answer, Izuku cleared his throat. "Those burns on your body… Did you get them from overheating yourself?" It came more like a statement than a question.

Touya-san cracked open his left eye and gazed at him with the turquoise orb. He was silent for a few moments, causing Izuku to fidget nervously, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"You're too goddamn observant, kid." The young man said lazily, chucking a little to himself. "Mostly. Some are a gifts from the bastard, but I guess it's hard to tell now where they are."

An anger spiked in him. He never really liked a Number Two Hero, the man was just a big brute with a fancy quirk. But ever since meeting Touya-san, his hate grew more and more with every new bit of information he learned about Endeavor.

However something else followed. He wasn't sure how to call it. Pity? Sympathy? Whatever it was, he didn't want to see the older boy getting hurt even more with his power.

Suddenly an idea popped into his mind. A one that wouldn't be too hard to pull off, if he played it off correctly.

* * *

Izuku didn't know, if he was supposed to punch himself in the gut for it or simply turn away on his heel and pretend this never happened.

He was about to do something bold, brave and utterly stupid. Which wouldn't be really a first time, he took an action of this kind.

Izuku was about to order Tomura to do something. Just thinking about it made his stomach drop and fill his mind with the images of his skin peeling off from his body, due to being hit with a Decay.

However League needed to finally show the world, that they existed. To build up their reputation in Underworld and make contacts in case they needed some help sometime in the future. Besides he was itching for some action. His brain finally got through that he was a villain now. And while combat training was good and all, it was only a training. A real life wasn't a static sequence of moves, that he was supposed to repeat over and over again. He needed an actual experience, if he wanted to take care of himself.

Swallowing his nerves and changing his features to determined ones, Izuku knocked on the door leading to Tomura's room.

At first there was a deep silence. Thinking that the boy was asleep, he reached with his hand again, but just before he could struck the wooden surface, a noise followed by a muffled curse reached his ears. A heavy steps grew closer to him. Finally the door cracked open, showing a lone red orb and dimly lighted insides of the room.

"The fuck do you want?" Tomura hissed angrily, gazing at him with annoyance. His face was still hidden behind a hand.

Tightening his left palm into a fist, Izuku looked straight into the eye of the leader. "We need to talk." he said in the tone that held no room for negotiation.

"No, we don't."

The teen tried to close the door, but Izuku put his palm on them and begun pushing with all his might, creating a standstill between them. "Yes, we do." he grunted out, through his teeth. "League needs to finally do something."

"And why would we need to do something?" Tomura questioned, still trying to overpower him.

"Think about it. If League do some quests, our reputation will rise. The better our reputation is, the easier it's going to be for us to function in the future. In addition we can level up, upgrading our skills and equipment." Izuku tried to reason with the leader using the only language the boy could understand.

Tomura started mumbling something under his nose, which was far too incomprehensible for him. A few moments and scratching noises later, he stopped pushing, showing his eye once again in the crack. "Fine. League will do a mission for some scrubs."

"Really?" Izuku asked in joy, smiling brightly.

"Yeah, now get lost." The teen ordered harshly, closing the door with a bang.

Letting out a breath, he relaxed his whole body. That went surprisingly well. Much better than he expected. He feared that he would have to get Sensei involved in the issue to finally make Tomura do anything really.

A slow clapping reached his ears. Turning around he saw Touya-san leaning against a wall. The young man had a simple pair of shorts on him and a small towel thrown over his shoulder. His hair were wet, sticking to his forehead.

"That was pretty ballsy, kid." he commented with a hint of awe. "I didn't get that nerd talk, but you got that dipshit to finally move his ass."

Chuckling at the insult, Izuku turned fully to the older boy. "I just want to do something good for us." he stated truthfully.

"Aren't you a thoughtful one?" Touya-san said, his lips stretched into a lazy smirk.

The young man lifted his right arm and begun closing the distance between them with it. However, right before it could touch his head, it stopped. A mix of emotions passed the older boy's face, while his eyes widened significantly. Suddenly the arm dropped dead next to his body and Touya-san turned around, leaving without a word, vanishing into his room.

Izuku quirked his brow at it. His mind replayed the moment several times, but he couldn't place his finger on the right answer to it. Whatever it was, it seemed to be rather personal, something that the young man wouldn't share with him that easy. At least not yet.

Shaking his head, Izuku stepped inside his room. He needed to make some phone calls and advert the services of their little group.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:**

Hi everyone!

Seeing as BFTGU got itself an ultra long chapter, I'm thinking of making tomorrow another one for CTW.

A fair warning though. There is a rather graphic description along the way. If some of you don't feel like reading it, I've put a stars before and after it, so you can skip it.

Enjoy the chapter and see you in the next update. Stay safe, guys.

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

Izuku stiffened a yawn, that threatened to escape his mouth. Pulling all nighter wasn't really his thing, but he supposed that it was necessary. At the very least he succeeded in what he needed.

"Did you get any sleep at all, kid?"

Looking up he saw Touya-san dressed in the waiter outfit. The man said he didn't want to be a freeloader and offered a hand in helping around the bar. Seeing as mostly criminals were their everyday customers, they didn't comment on his state. In addition Touya-san was a really good cook, which gathered them even more clients.

"Not really." Izuku replied with a chuckle. "I wanted to read through all of the jobs offer Giran-san got me."

Touya-san hummed lightly and glanced at the papers sprawled on the bar desk. "Found anything good?" he asked in neutral tone, most likely trying to mask his curiosity.

"A few. I out right crossed out all offers that are in Yokohama. If we start doing staff here, than Heroes will surely patrol more. I didn't even tried to look through the offers in big cities, too much Heroes who want to gain attention." Izuku explained, carefully sorting his papers into more manageable stacks. He was surprised by himself about just how casual he was about all of this. A small part of him still felt bad for preparing to do a crime, but the excitement he felt because of it greatly outshined his guilt.

"So somewhere small and relatively easy for us, yes?" Touya-san questioned, putting a cup of tea in front of him.

Smiling lightly, Izuku sipped his drink already feeling his sleepiness leaving him. "Precisely. I'm going to call to the guy and say that we're in."

"Remember to confirm details with him. And if it some kind of robbery then say we're going to take some. Otherwise it'll look suspicious." The man told him, while cutting vegetables.

That actually was a good advice. He didn't really think about money, mostly due to the fact that their funding came from businesses Sensei had. He still didn't know what they were, but as far as he knew, they never had to fear about not having a cash on them. He would have to keep that in mind for future.

Taking the papers under his arm and grabbing his cup of tea, Izuku made his way toward his room. He would make a phone call and get a few hours of sleep. Day was still young, so he could always do something later. Like training with Touya-san. The man gave him pointers non-stop and Izuku could feel himself improving, by it his technique or his body.

Izuku spotted Tomura at the top of the stairs. The teen's hair were an utter mess, signaling that he just woke up. It was odd to see him at this hour, normally he went downstairs about a noon, moaning for something to eat.

Tomura gave him a spiteful look from behind the palm attached to his face. Why did he always had it on? Izuku had absolutely no idea, he was grossed out by it, being aware that it was a real hand.

Stepping to the side, his back hugged the wall, allowing Tomura to slowly descend down. It was better this way, he didn't want to piss the teen off more than he already was.

* * *

Izuku slowly walked around the shelves of the supermarket, counting every camera he could find. This place was the target of the robbery. Well… more like the vault with money in it, but they still needed to know how to move around the shop.

He refrained from scratching his head, not wanting the wig he had on to accidentally fall off. This was a precaution of sort. Once he confirmed that the man hired them, he questioned about the details for this action. Apparently the guy was doing it mostly out of spite for his ex-girlfriend who was a manager here. Petty reason in Izuku's humble opinion, but he didn't voice it. The man didn't know much about the place, other than the staff keeping all the cash in the small vault somewhere in the office.

Not wanting his first mission to fail, Izuku took upon himself to scout the place and formulate a plan. That also meant getting into the part of shop that only an authorised personnel could access, but he had a plan for it too.

"Um… I'm sorry. I've lost my uncle." Izuku said timidly to the worker.

Yes that was all. Thanks to his still relatively short height, despite him closing to ten years old, he could easily pull off the 'lost kid' act. It was a standard procedure to take the child into the office and call their caretaker. Fortunately Kurogiri-san arranged the man, who would suit the role.

While sitting in the office, Izuku's eyes roamed around the room, memorizing its layout, searching for possible places for the vault. They would still need to make a mess to mislead cops into thinking that they were not organized, but it would be done later.

So far he could think of only three hiding spots. In the cupboard, in the drawer or in the desk, seeing as it was rather massive, he believed that it could be hidden there.

Walking out from the supermarket, Izuku split his way from his 'uncle' a few alleys away. The man did his job and would get his payment later. He still had some more things to do. They couldn't use Kurogiri-san's quirk to land in the shop or get out from it. It would be recorded and alert the police and Heroes about the existence of it. That was a big no-no for the League. Their Warp Gate needed to stay out of sight for as long as it was possible.

So now Izuku was searching for a potential places for them to show up and exit unseen. The alleys between the buildings were always good or somewhere in the nearby park. Almost being done with it, he paused for a second and stared ahead of him. A sly grin made its way on his lips. Oh, this was going to make their job so much easier.

* * *

"Where exactly are we, kid?" Touya-san asked, looking around the dimly lit room.

Smiling lightly, Izuku turned to the man. "This is where Sensei stays." he replied happily.

He was overjoyed when Sensei told him that he would fulfill the his request. As the man said 'It was all for the good of the League and archiving their goal.', which Izuku agreed with.

"Sensei? You mean that guy, who always talks to us via laptop?" Touya-san questioned lazily. "Actually why we never see him if he's so important to our group?"

Smile left Izuku's face, exchanged by a deep frown. Right, he still haven't informed the older boy about the state Sensei was in. It was kind of unspoken rule between him, Kurogiri-san and Tomura that they never spoke a word to anyone about what happened to the man.

"You'll see." Izuku said in somber tone, making Touya-san rise his eyebrows ever so slightly.

Stepping through the curtain, he saw Sensei 'staring' at the photo in his hand. From the way the man's lips were kept in a tight line, he guessed that Sensei was… troubled? Dissatisfied? It was hard reading the man's expression earlier, but now it seemed to be almost impossible.

A sharp breath from Touya-san, who stood next to him with a pale face, made Sensei place down the photo down on his lap and turn to them with a small smile.

"Ah, Izuku so good to see you. And you brought a guest with you. I'm pleased to meet you, Touya Todoroki-san." Sensei greeted them in slightly surprised voice.

Izuku caught the sight of Touya-san tightening his fist and taking a defensive position. The man shot him dirty look, accusing him for spilling the beans about his identity.

Sensei released a small chuckle and waved his hand at the older boy. "No need for hostility and please don't blame Izuku. He did nothing wrong. After he told me a little bit about you, I figured it out myself." This seemed to be enough to calm down Touya-san. "Are you aware of the purpose of your visit here?"

"Not really." The man replied with a small shrug.

"I wanted for it to be a surprise." Izuku admitted with a weak laugh. He thought that it would be better to allow Sensei to explain the whole situation to Touya-san, seeing as he was just an observer.

"I see. Allow me to enlighten you, Touya-san. Izuku brought you here today to solve the problem you're facing." Sensei said in a mysterious tone. That man really loved drama, didn't he?

"Problem?" Touya-san questioned, still wary of what was happening around him.

"Overheating. Your quirk is so powerful that your body isn't able to handle it. That's how you got those scars, am I correct?" Sensei stated, grinning widely.

The older boy gazed at his left arm, scowling lightly. Looks like it bothered him, but he did quite a good job at hiding it. Maybe they could arrange for him to have it covered somehow? Izuku didn't really know much about a medicine, but he was rather sure that there was a skin transfer operation or at least something akin to it.

"So? How can you solve it, sir?" Touya-san asked, gazing straight at Sensei.

"Call me Sensei, please. Now that you're a part of League and a good friend of Izuku, you've earned the rights to do it." The man said in caring tone, as if he was talking to his own child. "You see, my quirk allows me to take quirks from others. Of course I can also give them away if that's my desire." Sensei paused for a moment, allowing his word to sink into Touya-san's mind. The older boy's face didn't hid the bewilderment at this information. "And I happened to store some quirks that help user with high temperature."

"Why would you give one to me?" Touya-san questioned in whisper.

"As I said, you're part of the League now, it's only natural that I want all of you to succeed in our goal. Besides Izuku asked me to do it." Sensei told them, nudging his head in his direction.

Touya-san gazed at him with mix of emotions crossing his features. Izuku just smiled kindly at his friend. He felt like after today he could easily refer like that to the boy.

"Now please step forward and bend your head a little. Oh and a bit of advice, don't fight the feeling you're about to experience. Let it wash over you." Sensei instructed, raising his palm.

Touya-san did as told, closing his eyes when Sensei's hand touched his head. Izuku observed it with great amount of curiosity. It was the first time he witnessed the man do anything with his quirk, he needed to write it all later in his notebook, on a special section dedicated to Sensei.

At first nothing changed, there was no wind, no light, no noise, absolutely nothing to indicate that All For One was in action. When Izuku started to lose his hope for any kind of sensory show, he saw a dim, smoke-like aura surround Sensei's palm. It seemed to pour into Touya-san's head, slowly embracing his body, only to disappear few seconds later.

His friend straightened himself and gazed at his hands, flexing his fingers. He had baffled expression. "What exactly is that quirk?" Touya-san questioned in shaky voice.

"It's called Steamy Body. Not the best name in my opinion, but it serves its purpose. As for what it does…" Sensei chuckled silently. "I'll leave it for you and Izuku to figure out."

Of course he did. Not that Izuku complained about it, he was up to the challenge to crack this puzzle and write down the quirk in his notebook. He already had some assumptions about it, but he wanted to wait and see what they would discover while testing it. However he couldn't help but smile brightly. Now his friend wouldn't suffer from his own power or at least not so much. In addition he would be even more powerful, but that was only an added benefit of it.

Touya-san bowed deeply. "Thank you for the gift, Sensei." he said respectfully, showing the gratitude.

"Thank Izuku for it. Now, before you go, I've asked Kurogiri to left some gifts in your room, Izuku. While they usually serve to entertain people, I want you to look at them as a sort of educational materials." Sensei told him, smirking a bit.

Quirking his brow, Izuku tried to guess what exactly the man meant by it. Of course the mystery solved itself once he and Touya-san crossed the gate Kurogiri opened for them, leading to his room. It was all filled with carton boxes, leaving them almost no space to move around. Intrigued by the content, Izuku reached toward the nearest box. Inside of it he found a nicely sorted movies. He didn't recognize any of the titles, seeing as they were all in English. Checked the date on them, his jaw went slightly slack. Those came from before the quirks.

Quickly looking into more boxes, he confirmed that it was the case with all of the CDs here. It must have been a private collection of Sensei and now he was giving them to him. Just like that. How was he going to repay the man for his generosity? Could he even do it?

"Hey." Touya-san called him, pulling him out from his shock. "Want to kick back a little and watch a movie, kid?" he asked, pulling out one of the CDs. It had a man in black costume falling from the sky with his cape stretched out, while being surrounded by bats.

Grinning widely, Izuku nodded vigorously. A movie night with a friend! He had never experienced it. Well… it wasn't a night yet, but it didn't matter to him.

* * *

"How much longer are we going to wait?" Tomura asked threateningly, scratching his neck through a thick material around his neck.

Izuku held back a sigh and did his best to not replay. The teen asked this question for the fifth time in the last four minutes since Kurogiri dropped them off at the park near the supermarket.

It was finally a day of the robbery and Izuku felt that they were more than prepared. They wore black, baggy clothes with a bandanas and tinted ski-goggles, the outfit perfectly hid their identities, so even if cameras caught them, there was no way someone would recognize them. He also had gloves on his hands, preventing getting his fingerprints and a sport bag for money over his shoulder. He memorized the layout of the shop, so he could easily guide the way to the main office, where the vault with cash was.

He had a mixed feelings about the man, who hired them, not participating in it. On one hand they had one person less to help them with robbery. On the other hand they wouldn't risk him blowing up the action. He seemed to be rather hot-blooded, so it was quite possible.

Once he heard the fire truck sirens closing in, he motioned Tomura to move. This was a sort of signal that came only after Touya-san succeeded in his task. The older boy had to make a diversion for them. Fortunately Izuku found a few garbage bins full of stuff that could easily burn. But what was truly important was their location. It was near the junction, from which vehicles could get to the supermarket. And seeing as the only entrance was blocked by the firefighters busy with putting down a super hot flames, Izuku suspected that police wouldn't be coming anytime soon.

They moved along the wall of the building, reducing the chance of someone seeing them. Supermarket was soon closing and they weren't many people inside, but he still didn't want to risk it. Reaching the entrance at the back, Izuku had Tomura destroy the doorknob along with the whole lock.

Opening the door slightly, he peeked inside and found the corridor empty. Good, coast were clear. He still didn't want to run into a person and hurt them. He knew it was a weakness that he had to get rid off, but for now he prefered for it to stay this way.

"Get moving, scrub. I want to get it done." Tomura ordered in low tone. It seemed like the teen still saw it as a complete waste of time.

Shaking his head ever so slightly, Izuku moved inside, guiding them toward the office, quietly maneuvering between corridors and always checking the rooms for any possible encounter. Everything seemed to went perfectly, that is until they reached their destination.

Glancing through the window in the door, Izuku saw a woman working behind the desk. Crap, he needed to make her move out somehow and make it long enough for them to grab the money and run. But how to do it?

Being too occupied in his thoughts, Izuku almost missed Tomura rushing inside with dazzling display of speed. He got from the door to the woman almost instantly and them… He caught her throat with all five fingers.

The skin around the neck decayed momentary, muscles following them in matter of seconds, spilling blood on Tomura's arm. But Decay didn't stop there, it went further, destroying the woman's face, making her lower jaw and eyes fall on the floor. The tongue hung lifelessly from the hole in the neck, before it changed into dust.

Izuku barely pulled his bandama down as vomit rose to his mouth. Even after he emptied his stomach from its content, leaving a gross pool on the floor, the acid still wanted to escape. A strange wave of heat hit him, along with a cold sweat drenching his body instantly. His vision was hazy and the only thing he could hear was the crazy beating of his heart that was going to explode any second now.

Why?! Why did Tomura did it?! They could have lure the woman away, take the money and leave. There was no need to kill her. Yes, they're villains, however it didn't mean that they had to kill left and right.

Something took the bag from him with a movement so harsh and rapid that Izuku lost his balance and slid against the floor. After a minute or two, something grabbed his arm, raising him to his feet and making him move. Yet his mind was still trapped in the vision of the dying woman. The expression she gave when the Decay hit her, the look of utter terror… He was sure that he was going to be hunted by it till the end of his days.

* * *

When Touya first met Izuku in the hospital, he didn't really knew what to think of him. The kid was hanging around him, talking about all sort of topics just to not allow him to feel lonely. Sometimes he faked that he was sleeping, trying to see if he could get rid of him. Yet Izuku always remained, keeping him company until one of the nurses told him to go home. All while writing and muttering about quirks.

He was thankful to Izuku for being with him along the way to recovery. Be it handing him a cup of water or putting the pillow so he could lay comfortably. Touya would lie if he said that he didn't start to look forward for the kid's visits. Nurses and doctors were too stiff and didn't stay long. He might have gone insane from the lack of human interactions.

When Izuku said his name, his full name, for the first time, Touya was terrified. He was so scared of going back to that freak house that he choose the only option he knew. Threaten Izuku with his quirk. His shitty old man was always wary of his power, seeing as it was way more powerful than the bastard's flames. Sure the Trash Bag had resistance to heat, but it wouldn't save him from becoming a pile of dust.

He wanted to laugh when Izuku told him that he was a villain. He would honestly do it if not for that steel hardened look he received and a sincerity in Izuku's voice. When he was proposed to join them, he was one step from agreeing right off the bat. He wanted to drag Endeavor's reputation down to the mud, announcing to the world that Touya Todoroki, son of _oh so great_ Number Two Hero, was a villain. However he wanted to hear exactly what he was getting into. When the kid told him that they wanted to reform their society, he thought that they'd gone insane. Yet once again he couldn't feel a lie coming from Izuku. Only a strong conviction in his beliefs.

Living with the kid, Kurogiri and that weirdo, Tomura, was utterly relaxing, not like his time at the Todoroki household. Izuku would spend time with him, just enough to not be too annoying. Kurogiri was soft spoken and greatly appreciated that Touya wanted to help around the bar. He used to cook for his younger sibling, feeling responsible for them as the oldest brother, and thanks to his dishes they gained more customers.

As for Tomura… Touya didn't like that guy one bit. He reminded him too much of the Flaming Garbage. Always barking at others, concentrated on himself, non-stop pissed off. If anything, he wanted to burn that asshole. But he couldn't because Handjob was a leader. That made him laugh. How that prick was leading them always playing on his console?

Izuku was a leader. He cared for him and their League. He was the one who spent few nights looking through papers and checking the jobs offered to them. He was the one who came up with a plan to rob that supermarket. He was… When Touya saw Izuku smiling brightly at him after he got Tomura to finally move his ass and chuckle at him comment, he thought that he saw Shoto. The two being the same age just added to it, making him want to stroke the kid's hair. Just like he used to do with his little brother.

Call it favouritism, but Touya loved his youngest brother the most. Sure Fuyumi helped a lot around the house and Natsuo was fun to hung around, but Shoto was the his most beloved sibling. The boy always saw him as some kind of superhero. He even said his name as his first word, although it came as 'Touha'. Their mom was slightly disappointed that 'mom' didn't came before it, but she was extremely happy for it nonetheless. After the accident with kettle, he took care of his siblings, nursing his little brother into bed, when he whimpered from the pain after the torture their bastard father put him through. He was a bit mad at Fuyumi and Natsuo for not standing up to Endeavor, but he understood them and their want to live their lives as peacefully as they could. So he did it for all four of them, getting beat down and burns as the punishment.

He was honestly shocked when he met Sensei. The man possessed that aura around him that made his basic survival instincts haywire. Touya was sure that he would die instantly if that guy desired so. He was curious as for why Sensei was bedridden, but he didn't ask. To Izuku is seemed to be something personal, so he decided to not touch it. But what gained the kid even more respect from him was the fact that he convinced the man to grand him quirk that would nullify his overheating problem. All because Izuku cared about him and didn't want him to self-destruct.

Was he becoming attached to Izuku even more than he already was? The kid became his friend in a short amount of time, there was no hiding it. Yet Touya could feel the same feelings slowly changing, reshaping themselves into the ones he had toward his siblings. Was it bad? Was it good? He honestly didn't know. It was an enigma to him. He was slightly scared of it.

A loud voices reached his ears, making him stand up from his comfy bed. After he did his part in the robbery, Kurogiri warped him back to his room. Opening the door, he quickly recognized that it was Izuku and Handjob arguing about something from within the kid's room.

"You're fucking pissing me off!" Tomura shouted at the top of his lungs. "Ever since Sensei got hurt, you've been stealing away his attention! Why is he keeping you around?! You're just a quirkless brat! And that noob too, thanking you for doing the robbery, when I was the one who did everything! You're nothing but a waste of space!"

A white anger bubbled in Touya's chest. How dare that fucktard say those words to Izuku?! Not wanting this to continue any further, Touya kicked the door hard, getting them out of hinges. He would fix that later, now he needed…

He froze for a second. Izuku was kept against the wall, his feet dangling above the floor, while his hands squeezed Tomura's arm that was keeping him pinned by his throat with four fingers around it. The kid looked at him with a blue face, pleading with his eyes to help him, while his mouth tried to catch even a smallest breath.

That look… it was the same one Shoto gave him, begging to stop Endeavor's brutal training. Touya could feel the same amount of wrath shooting through his system, commanding him to move and save his… his… his little brother.

Lunging forward, Touya grabbed Tomura by the back of the collar and threw him away, peeling Handfreak away from Izuku. The kid fell to his knees and started coughing violently.

"What the fu…"

He didn't let Tomura end it, punching him straight in the face. He heard a satisfying crunch, most likely coming from a broken nose. Catching Handjob by the hoodie, he threw him from the room, making him roll on the floor.

"Listen here, Freakshow." Touya growled out, while his azure flames flicked around his palms as if they answered to his ire. "Try to harm him again, be it verbally or bodily, and I'll roast you so hard that even an ash won't remain from you."

He would do it. He would absolutely do it. Whomever was willing to raise a hand at Izuku would have to deal with him and his wrath. Even a freaking All Might would suffer if he as much as gazed at the kid the wrong way.

Tomura groaned lifting himself on the elbow. He shot Touya a dirty look, showing the beautiful river of blood coming from the nose. Before Handjob could do anything, a black mist came to life under him, swallowing him whole, not leaving the trace of his presence.

He would thank Kurogiri later, but now he had more important thing to do.

Quickly crouching down next to Izuku, he put his hand on his back and started making a small circles, trying to calm the kid. "Izuku, breath slowly. Just like we do after exercising. Come on, I'm going to do it with you, alright?" he tried to keep his voice as steady as he could.

Guiding the kid with their breaths, he somehow managed to get it back under control. What he didn't expect was Izuku rising a bit, just to wrap his hands around Touya's torso and cry into his chest. Getting over his initial shock, he put his arm around the boy's back, keeping him close, and his palm on his head, petting his soft curls in soothing manner.

They stayed like that for God knows how long. But Touya didn't mind. It was all in order to help the kid.

"Thanks… Touya-nii." Izuku whispered, his voice cracking along the way.

His heart beat a tad harder at hearing this. Shoto used to call him that. There was no Natsuo-nii or Fuyumi-nee, just Natsuo and Fuyumi, but the only way he ever referred to him, was by calling him Touya-nii. And Izuku did it exactly the same as his youngest brother did. With exactly the same amount of feelings.

"No problem, Izuku." Touya said quietly in a tender tone. Just like he used to do with Shoto.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

* * *

Touya peeked to the side, confirming that Izuku was fully focused on writing in his quirk notebook as the boy watched him try to figure out the new quirk Sensei gave him. Releasing a silent sigh, he felt the weight on his shoulder leave him or at least some amount.

A week had passed since the accident with Handjob and ever since then Touya moved with Izuku to another flat to avoid contact with Hand Freak. It was still relatively close to the bar so the two of them still worked there without a need for Kurogiri's taxi service. But the biggest reason Touya all but demanded it was to isolate Izuku from Tomura. Well that and him not being sure if he could restrain himself from burning that asshole to crisp for what he did in front of his now blood brother.

The kid had nightmares ever since that day along with an appetite problems. Honestly the boy looked like he would drop on his next step from the lack of sleep and walking around half-starved. But Touya couldn't really blame Izuku for it, he was still young and had pure heart despite being a villain. Heart that he swore to protect, not that he would ever said it out loud. God damn him and his older brother syndromes.

Deciding to take Izuku's mind out of the never ending circle of nightmares, he took him to figure out the new quirk. This seemed to light a small flicker of fire in the kid's eyes and put a ghost of the smile on his lips, which put Touya at ease.

So here they were at one of the training areas Sensei had stored in some big hangar. The field was swarmed with training dummies, which he was rather thankful for. He could burn them to ash thinking that was a Handjob. At least in his imagination the bastard would be set on fire. But this wasn't a purpose of this outing.

Feeling the limit of his Cremation closing to him, Touya stopped the torrent of flames from his hands and paused. Where was he going from here? What was the trigger for that other quirk in him? For his original power he always felt the raging fire coursing just beneath his skin, begging him to unleash it. But this?

Closing his eyes, Touya recalled the sensation of how it was given to him. It felt like a chilly mist entered him, engraving itself in the very core of his being. Focusing on this, he searched in him, looking exactly for that feeling. He stood like that for a minute, getting more and more irritated for not finding anything at all. Why was this so hard?

"Um… Touya-nii?" Izuku called him timidly, breaking his rather fragile concentration. Halting the happy smile that was threatening to come onto his lips, he cracked his eye open and hummed. "I don't know if it's going to be any help to you, but I think you're trying too hard to make other quirk work."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, not getting what the boy was telling him.

"I'm almost hundred percent sure that Sensei gave you Emitter Type quirk. One of the things that I've noticed with those types of quirks it that they tend to work by instinct. Like all the kids with those kind of power at first have accidents where their quirks just fire off even if they didn't want it." Izuku explained, clearly trying not to mumble so he could understand him.

Touya blinked at it and scratched his chin. This actually made sense. He remembered that he had issues at first with controlling his flames. Quite often it ended with his mom putting them out with her ice. And now he only thought about any control, when he wanted to do other stuff then being a flamethrower.

Taking a deep breath, he relaxed his body and emptied his mind out of everything except the wish to cool off. And so he waited and waited for anything to change. Suddenly, he felt it, that chilly mist. It was in his stomach, slowly but surely coming out from it, traveling across his body, leaving the pleasant sensation of coldness. It was just enough to get him out from his overheated state.

A loud sound of awe made by Izuku, caused him to open his eyes. Looking at his hands he saw a puffs of white smoke coming out of them. Checking around, he confirmed that this steam was going out from most of his body.

He opened his mouth to say something, but a sudden dryness hit him out of nowhere, followed by a great thirst. Taking a water bottle that he brought with them, he gulped it down, emptying it in the matter of seconds and released a satisfied sigh.

"Huh, it seems that this quirk uses the water in you to rapidly cool down your body. Dehydration is going to be quite problematic." Izuku mused out aloud, scrabbling in his notebook.

Touya looked at his hand and flexed his fingers. The boy was right, while he didn't have to worry anymore about overheating, dehydration was just as bad. He doubted that his future opponents would gave him the window to take a sip of water in the middle of the fight.

Searching in his mind he had found this new quirk. It was laying right next to his original one, the raging tornado of azure fire, but while he could feel his first power fully, the other was hiding its part.

"I don't think it's the full extent of Steamy Body." Touya said, rolling his neck around.

Izuku blinked at him and touched his chin, a storm of muttering leaving his mouth, seemingly at the speed of sound. He let the kid be, knowing that he's going to think of something that…

"I have a theory." The boy announced, finally showing some excitement and happiness.

Shaking his head, Touya smirked a little. "What did that brain of yours came up with?"

"Sensei said that the name of the quirk isn't exactly the best, right? So maybe this power revolves around water inside of you and water vapor around you?" Izuku explained, already making notes.

Humming a bit, he decided to give it a shot. Not like he had any better idea. Once again he reached toward the new quirk, this time desiring to absorb water. Waiting a few moments, Touya could feel a sudden moisture on his whole body and caught the sight of barely visible white-ish ribbons entering into him. He sensed that his temperature dropped down once again, putting him somewhere near his standard forty degree Celsius.

Extending his hand he put it on Izuku's curls and ruffled them, much to the boy's chagrin. "Knew you could figure it out." he said, smiling a bit.

* * *

Over the last month Izuku felt himself slowly returning to his usual self. He doubted that he would ever be the same as he was, but that was just how life functioned. Still though… he couldn't help, but feel angry at Tomura for what he did. His 'leader' killed that woman without a second though, reasoning that she was an obstacle that needed to be erased. The teen said it, or rather screamed at him, while choking him, before Touya-nii came with a rescue.

Touya-nii… Izuku liked the sound of it, no matter just how embarrassed he was during the first few days of referring in this way to the older boy. When he was younger, he wanted to have a sibling. There was just something appealing about having a brother or sister, who would spend time with him, geek out about Heroes with him… basically do almost everything with him.

And now he had the older brother, who would no doubt burn everyone and everything to ashes if even the hair fell from his head. He had the mixing feelings about it, but he believed that Touya-nii was a reasonable individual... At least most of the times.

But right now, he did his absolute best to hide himself from the slightly annoyed gaze he was receiving from his blood brother.

Releasing a long sigh, Touya-nii hid his face in his palm. "Let me get this straight. After about a month after that _accident_ and still having troubles with sleeping, you want to take an offer from a guy, that basically has killing in its name." He looked up at him with deadpanned expression and slightly quirked brow. "Or did I get something wrong?"

Chuckling timidly and scratching his cheek, Izuku gave a tad awkward smile. "Yeah, I thought that maybe with this I could get over this… At least a little bit."

"While I'm overjoyed by this, I don't really approve it. You may get hurt." Touya-nii halted him with his palm. "And it's not about you being quirkless, I don't give a crap about it. This gang is a semi-yakuza, they won't hesitate even for a second to kill a child." he ended in a grave tone.

Izuku bit his lip and gazed dejected at the floor. He knew that his blood brother was right. Yet he couldn't help, but still push for it. The thought of those criminals being hardened killers terrified him, but exactly because of this he needed to do it. He had to conquer his fears if he ever wanted to be of any use to League.

Touya-nii groaned loudly and threw his head back, rising his arms in defeat. "Okay, fine. We're going to do it." The young man said in tired tone.

"Really?!" Izuku shouted out happily, smiling brightly at his brother words.

"Yes. I can't bare seeing you looking like a kicked puppy." he replied, smirking a bit.

The best older brother ever.

* * *

"I'm glad to see that you're doing better Izuku." Sensei told him, even before he crossed the curtain.

Wondering briefly how the man knew it, he sat at the chair and smiled a bit. "Thank you, Sensei. We figured out the quirk you gave to Touya-nii… SAN! I mean Touya-san." His check blushed heavily in embarrassment. How could he make such a mistake?

Sensei let out a hearty laugh and shook his head in obvious amusement. "Oh, don't worry, your secret is save with me. To be honest, I suspected that this would happen sooner or later." The man paused for a second and smirked at him. "So what are your thoughts about Steamy Body?" Sensei questioned in interest.

"It's very useful. Not only cooling down Touya-nii's body, but also for creating a distraction. We still haven't tested the limits of how much steam he can produce, but it'll come in due time." Izuku replied in excitement. He really wanted to see what that power was capable of.

Sensei nodded at him. "Anything else?"

Humming a little, he touched his chin and thought hard. "The name is really bad."

"It's, right?" The man said, chuckling under his breath. Suddenly his smile vanished, replaced by a thin line and his shoulders slouched a bit. "Izuku, can I ask you for something?" His voice sounded sad and somewhat pleading.

Rising his brow just a little, he inched closer, thinking what could make the man to used such… vulnerable tone. "Of course. Anything for you, Sensei."

The man moved his hand and searched for something under his covers. After a few moments, he presented Izuku with a rather old photo. "Can you describe what is on it?"

Ah right, that Echolocation type quirk allowed Sensei to recognize shapes, nothing else. "I can see you, Sensei, dressed in a suit without a tie and with the top button undone. You're in the hospital room, sitting on a bed. On this bed there's a woman in a hospital gown with lime-green straight, hair and matching eyes. Oh, she's really beautiful. She's holding a new-born child wrapped in pink blanket. Both of you are looking at the baby and smiling brightly." he tried to describe everything he could. "It this your family?"

Sensei took a picture from him and laid it on his lap. A ghost of a smile danced on his lips. "Was. My wife, Kamiyu, she changed me so much. After I lost my brother to that pesky government, I was angered and bitter. You could say that I truly was a villain, a worst man to ever live. But after meeting her… I remembered what is like to laugh, do silly things, to love. I was… still am head over heels for her." he said in soft tone. "Till this day I blame myself for her death."

Swallowing silently, Izuku played a bit with his fingers, not sure if he should press the matter further. It was obvious to him that it was a sensitive subject to Sensei and he didn't want to offend him with his curiosity. Maybe someday in the future, he would get a chance to ask about it.

* * *

Izuku walked through the docks of Kisarazu, slowly mapping the terrain in his mind. This was the place where the next job offer took place. A small time gang of petty criminals wanted to get rid of bigger one that got docks under their control and gave them, plus many more, trouble with doing business here. He assured the leader that he was okay without a money, instead he preferred to have spread League's name and have favors with them.

He was glad that he choose to come here at night. For a weird reason the protection around here was weaker during those hours, leaving him with a perfect opportunity to look around, mark off good places for traps and take a peek at the stuff in magazines.

He already knew that the whole gang gathered here two times during the month, unless there was some kind of emergency. That meant he had a little over a week to gather as much information about this place as it was possible and prepare a plan.

A noise reached his ears, making him stop. It was near him, probably around the corner and sounded weird. Like a mix of crazed giggles combined with slurping. His curiosity overpowered his flee instinct. Inching closer to the edge of container, he peek… His stomach rose to his throat.

There, on the ground, motionlessly laid a man in a pool of blood with multiple stab wounds all around his body. Next to him was a girl about his age. Her clothing was destroyed by the blood on it and in her hand he caught the sight of a small knife. She was licking off the crimson liquid from her fingers, laughing maniacally.

A million questions arose in his mind. Like who was that man? Why did that girl killed him? How did she managed to do it, when she looked so petite? Why was she drinking the blood?

His breath quickened and panic begun to overcome him. This… That was way too soon to see another dead body, even if this one was less horrible sight. While he had to overcome his fears, he wanted to do it on his terms. After a long mental preparation and such. Not this.

Steeling his nerves, he slowly inched back, trying not to… Wait, where did that girl go?

"You look nice." A whisper with a hot breath on his neck reached him from behind.

Jumping to the side on instinct, he barely dodged a strike from a stained knife. How did she got there without him noticing? How did she knew that he was here? And why was she panting like a wild animal? Questions for later, now to get out of this oppressive situation. Taking a better look at the girl, he saw her ash-blonde hair with droplets of blood in them sticking in every direction. Her golden eyes with a slits were zeroed on him, having a dangerous glint in them. On her cheeks was a deep, pink blush and thanks to her giant grin, he saw that her canines were slightly longer and more pointed than rest. She was rather pretty… if not for all that blood on her face and… everywhere actually.

The girl lunged at him, giggling to herself, and swiped with her weapon at his neck. Quickly sidestepping, he just got a nick on his cheek. Seeing as it was do or die, he kicked at her, only to see her bend at the incredible angle. Once more the blade came near him, this time making him shield himself with his arms. He felt a cut on his forearm and saw that the girl was about to make another one. Not wanting to end up like that unfortunate man, he jumped back, creating a distance between them.

"Hey! You're no fun. I want to see just how much more beautiful you're going to look, covered in blood." she called at him, pouting a bit.

What? He absolutely got lost there. Was this girl insane? Most likely a clearly inane question, but he had to ask. Analyzing his situation, Izuku came to a decision that he had no way out. The girl was quick and would catch him. He couldn't use his phone to contact Kurogiri to take him out from here without risking to be stabbed. And his chances to fight back were about fifty-fifty.

Remembering his battle training, he waited for her to attack him again. He wasn't in position to lead the combat, so he needed to be smart about it. When the girl jumped at him again, clearly aiming at his head, he sidestepped and grabbed her wrist. Twisting it, he made her release a weapon and hiss in pain. Putting his free hand on her back, he pushed her forward, while pulling her arm behind her. The girl lost her balance and Izuku pinned her to the ground, putting his knee between her shoulder blades.

She squirmed under him, trying to overpower him, but his hold was firm. Okay, now that he had her in his grasp, he could…

A pained yell, made him release his hold and jump back in distress. The girl curled herself tightly and whimpered loudly. What was going on? She looked like she was greatly hurt, but he doubted it was from his actions.

"Need… blood." He heard her groan out almost silently.

Izuku blinked at this. He knew that some quirks demanded from a user to have a specific diet to allow them to function normally. For example Kurogiri, while having semi-active quirk, had to consume a humongous amount of calories every day, otherwise he's power would literally starve him to death. Because of that the man ate mostly a fatty food, that would be unhealthy for a normal person in those quantities. He also cataloged some more quirks that required the person to eat or drink specified meals and liquids.

But blood? He had never encountered this. It seemed so odd to him that he had hard time believing in this. Yet here he was, witnessing this poor girl suffering from her quirk.

Sighing to himself, Izuku rolled up a sleeve from his hoodie. Crouching next to the girl, he presented her with his arm that she cut earlier. The gash wasn't deep, but it was rather long and still bleed quite a lot.

"Here."

The girl opened her tightly shut eyelids and glanced at him with unfocused eyes. When she spotted his limb, she stretched out her next with a great amount of effort and started sipping his blood. After a few moments some of her strength returned to her, seeing as she rose a bit. Then… she latched onto his arm and begun drinking greedily.

Not really knowing what to do, he put his hand on her head and petted her. To his great surprise, the girl purred at his ministrations. After what seemed to be a whole minute, she stopped, backing a little bit and releasing an overly satisfied sigh.

"Thanks." she whispered, smiling genially at him.

Before he had a chance to answer, the girl all but fell on him, a soft snores escaping her lips.

Izuku blinked. Then one more time. What the hell had just happened?

* * *

**A/N:**

Hey everyone!

As I said earlier, I'm giving you another chapter of CTW. It took me a bit longer to do, because I had to take care of some college stuff. And good news! I'm going to study Japanese! I'm so excited about it.

Anyway, here it is. Enjoy it and leave your thoughts as you always do. Till next update!


End file.
